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"[…]Bethrezen resided in the deepest, hottest caverns of the Netherworld, forever chained in his fiery prison until such a day that he would be freed. On the surface – where there were demons, fire would soon follow for where there were his children so did Bethrezen's influence and presence follow. In the early Epochs it has always been His goal to stoke the flames across the lands – for if he could not bring himself upon Nevendaar then he would bring Nevendaar to him[…]
[…]fire has always been the predominant element of the Legions of the Damned. For Demons – fire meant home; for His followers – fire meant being closer to our dark Master. The pinnacle of Fire Mastery were wielded by the Pandemoneuses and Modeuses – most fervent Sorcerer worshippers who died in the name of Bethrezen, either in battle or by sacrifice. Their souls burning in the fiery sea of the Netherworld, judged by our Master and reborn as the winged harbingers of fire and fury[…]"
- the Disciple's Archive
The Cultist
Chapter 2
Victory: First and Not The Last
Naruto, now 13, stood atop the Hokage Monument on the Yondaime's head and looked over the village. The sun has just started to peek over the horizon, slowly banishing the shadows that were cascading away over the trees and buildings. The air was moist with the retreating night's chill, and the streets devoid of life, fully silent. The village was still sleeping.
It's been a while since Naruto required full night's sleep. Ever since he began practising Infernal Arts, as he started calling it, he noticed he needed less and less sleep to the point he could easily get away with only 2 hour nap. Over the course of 5 years that developed into dark bags under his eyes. A small price to pay for getting more hours out of the day. That being said, he still woke up fully rested every single time. If anything, he was sleeping better now.
Today is the day he will be graduating the Academy, and next week he will get a team and start going on missions. He was excited for his future.
As Naruto watched the sun rise more and more over the horizon, he reminisced on the past few years and contemplated his progress. He came to realise that Infernal Arts were not just a list of jutsus you learn and perform; it was a whole lifestyle. The Disciple's Manual, as he dubbed the book, didn't lie when it said 'path of the Damned'. Every time he touched the book he'd bleed from his hand. After reading the first chapter he quickly learnt that everything has a price (and most things just needed blood), and the book's price of learning its secrets just happen to be a bit of Naruto's blood. It was also an offering to Bethrezen since it was through Him that he was in the possession of the book. He quickly learnt to give his thanks every time.
At some point Naruto also felt that with every opening of the book something inside him was changing. Physically, his pain tolerance grew exponentially each time – he felt the sudden pinch in his palm less and less until he felt nothing at all. Eventually, through one particular event, he discovered that his pain tolerance grew so much that he wouldn't even bat an eye if his palm got stabbed.
The Infernal Arts were challenging, difficult, but extremely rewarding.
[Flashback]
Naruto, at 10 years old, hit his first roadblock ever since he came into possession of the Disciple's Manual. It's been over a year and a half now, and the most he has done was reading and committing to memory all the material available to him (including the Archive in conjunction with Manual for better understanding) and that included learning a whole new language (which was a challenge of its own). He also practiced some minor beginner rituals as instructed.
These rituals were self-sufficient in terms he only needed himself: cutting his palm with something sharp and using it to draw a simple circle around himself, and a short incantation and prayer in the Ancient Tongue. The effects were instantaneous – a massive draw on his chakra and the circle around him igniting crimson red before the blood dispersed in the air. And the next moment, the chakra he spent was returned to him with additional effects based on the incantation – stamina regeneration, healing, cleansing, relaxant, exhaustion prevention, muscle soother and so on. Minor effects but these rituals served their purpose – you had to do one at least once a week to 'cleanse' yourself. 'Cleansing' was another way of paying tribute to Bethrezen while also allowing more Power to be channelled.
The other purpose was teaching – it was the basis of all other rituals (combat or not), and also allowed Initiates to practice making their own incantations. And that's what most rituals were – you were given a base and then you finish it as you see fit. If you did it correctly and channelled sufficient Power into your incantation, then Bethrezen would reward you with an effect you asked for. But then the Disciple's Archive speculated that it wasn't so much Bethrezen rewarding every single ritual, but rather you being successful in correctly manipulating the Power via the words in your incantation. Bethrezen already bestowed upon you the Power, you just had to learn to correctly manipulate it. Naruto didn't know which was true, but then he thought it made sense – you won't create, learn, or perform jutsus on the first try until you learn the correct sequence of handseals and the chakra required.
And then it happened – the book just ended. The last paragraph of the chapter he was reading ended perfectly at the end of the page and for the life of him he couldn't open the next page. All it said was to proceed he had to perform an Intermediate Level Ritual, which is the next step after what he has been doing. Now, Intermediate Rituals were no longer small short term effects, but something permanent. And thus required more materials.
Namely, a living sacrifice.
Surprisingly, Naruto didn't even think twice about that (perhaps that was the effect of the change he was feeling, he mused). What he did was reread the whole content that was available to him and chose what kind of ritual he wanted to do exactly. Then, when he found the base of the ritual he wanted to use, he spent several days perfecting the incantation. And finally – procuring the sacrifice, which had to be living still.
Now, because this would be something that would potentially be permanent on his body (even if a minor effect), Naruto deemed it's something the Sandaime would claim as 'dangerous' and 'out of the ordinary'. He remembered Jiji's plea and warning to tell him if he ever attempted something like that. Besides, he needed some help with this matter too and it's been a while since he chatted with the old man.
Naruto knocked on the doors to Sandaime's office, and entered when he was called in.
"Hello, Jiji."
"Naruto-kun! So good to see you. Shall we take a stroll?"
"Yes, please."
Hiruzen warmly smiled and led the boy out. He was happy to see that Naruto managed to tame his endless energy and become a bit more cool headed. He will surely miss the exuberant child but he knew everyone grew up at some point.
They didn't see each other that often anymore what with Hiruzen being busy with the office, and Naruto being busy with Academy, training, and his "extracurricular training". Yes, Hiruzen knew of some things – Naruto has told him enough to placate the old man that he wasn't in much danger. Naruto never went into much detail about the practical side, but Hiruzen was smart enough to piece together what Naruto wasn't saying and deduced that whatever it was, it was bloody. Every time Naruto visited him he felt that Naruto's chakra was getting a little bit denser, and his presence a little more imposing. He also looked a lot healthier (except the bags under eyes). Thus, Hiruzen chose to blissfully ignore things that Naruto implied but never outright told him.
They were walking through the village when Naruto finally spoke "I need your help with something," a moment of hesitation "I've hit a wall in my training."
Ah, so Naruto wants to let him in a bit "I see. And how may I help, exactly?" Despite his willingness to help the boy, Hiruzen wasn't sure he'd be up to doing something morbid. He was a ninja, sure, but if he had the choice of avoiding doing something that made him uncomfortable then he would gladly do so. So really, it depended on what Naruto wanted.
Sensing old man's mild discomfort Naruto hurriedly tried to placate him "Don't worry, you won't have to actually do anything. I need to do… a certain ritual which is more complex that the ones I did before. I have all I will need apart from a place where I can do it," he looked up to Hokage "I don't know what will happen during it or if there will be any leakage of chakra. Don't want to upset the villagers. And I didn't want to spend time walking outside village looking for anything so thought I might as well ask you."
Hiruzen hummed and understood Naruto's dilemma. There was one place he could show the boy "Very well. There is one place that I suppose I could share with you. Follow me."
"Oh, great! We will need to drop by my apartment first to collect my materials."
The Hokage nodded and they did just that. When Naruto left his apartment Hiruzen raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't comment on the makeshift cage that contained a hare, or the kitchen knife that Naruto quickly pocketed in one of his pouches.
They quickly made their way outside the village, and after some minutes of walking finally reached what appeared to be a cliff hidden between thick trees. Naruto was confused as it seemed this was the dead end but then he saw Hiruzen perform a couple of handseals and put his hands on the cliff. There was a brief ripple where he touched and an entrance was revealed with stairs that lead down.
Naruto was amazed and gaped at the old man. Hiruzen's response was to chuckle "Genjutsu and Fuuinjutsu. Don't look like that, you need to be an expert sensor to even spot this," he then gestured towards the stairs that were lit by some torches "Shall we? Only the Hokages and their must trusted and immediate family know of this. Needless to say this is secure."
Naruto was touched that he put so much trust in him. He wanted to ask what the purpose of this place was but decided against. He needed to focus on what he needed to do.
As they descended deeper they passed several doors, until the staircase seemed to expand and reveal a big cave at the end of it. The cave itself looked like a room carved right into the rock. It was possibly done with Doton manipulation.
"You can use this," Naruto nodded as he inspected the space "Naruto-kun, do you mind if I stay and observe? This old man is really curious about the things you've been learning."
Did Hiruzen think Naruto's 'speciality' was a bit dark and uncomfortable? Yes. Perhaps even a bit morbid? Definitely. But Hiruzen was a scholar at heart and in all of his long life he has never actually met someone who has been granted tools and ways to communicate with some higher power. He was absolutely curious to see something in action that he has only read about.
Naruto thought about it for a bit and he thought it wouldn't be such a bad idea to have someone nearby on his first time, in case something happens.
"Sure, old man," he looked at the Hokage with serious face expression "But in no circumstances you are to interfere at any point during the ritual! At least not until all the lines disappear. I am not a master of this craft yet and this is my first time performing on this level. This ritual is meant to affect me, so if something goes wrong because you did something then I am not sure if I would be able to fix it on the spot. Understood?"
Hiruzen was surprised at his tone of voice and was a tiny bit alarmed when he said it is meant to affect him, but he didn't let it show on his face. He merely nodded "Understood." And so he went to stand at a far wall, thus silently indicating that Naruto may start any time.
Naruto took a big breath, then got to work. He cleared his mind and calmed his nerves. He could do this, no biggie.
He took the hare out of the cage and put the cage away, then approached the middle of the cave. He closed his eyes, centring himself, remembering what he learnt. Big breath in, hold, exhale. In, hold, exhale.
He snapped his eyes open as they blazed with determination, and he methodically got to work.
He brandished the knife and without hesitation made a small cut on his arm and chanted,
"For Bethrezen I spill my blood,"
Once again Hiruzen's eyebrows disappeared in his hairline in surprise. Whatever language he was speaking in, he couldn't even begin to understand it. But it felt powerful and meaningful, rhythmical and strong. Almost like a strong staccato that reverberated against the walls. The only way Hiruzen could describe it was Ancient.
Naruto continued his work.
He quickly kneeled and stabbed the hare, then sharply twisted the knife to make more blood spill from it.
"For Bethrezen I offer this sacrifice,"
Laying the hare down, Naruto used the now bloody knife to draw a large circle, him and the hare being the center of it.
"Let this circle be the sign of my unity with my Master,"
Then, he drew a five point star –a pentagram- with the points touching the edge of the circle. Here he also began channelling some of his Power.
"Accept this offering on all planes of existence, devour its essence,"
Suddenly, the five points that touched the circles burst into crimson flame, which calmly remained there and illuminated the cave in an eerie light.
Then, in a flash, Naruto flipped the knife in reverse grip and stabbed his palm right through making his blood gush on the floor and on top of the hare. He was marvelling that he didn't even feel an ounce of pain. Focusing back on the task, he slammed his bleeding hand on the floor,
"I join my blood with this hare's, for this hare is yours as is my blood,"
Upon these words the small pool of blood that was forming under his palm quickly flowed and trickled outside the circle and formed a hexagon with some edges of it touching and overlapping with the circle. At the same time, the hare in the middle glowed in crimson light before it started getting absorbed into the pentagram and the circle, layer by layer – fur went first, then the skin, the muscles, the sinew, organs, and finally bones; each of those fuelling the flames on the 5 points, until there was no longer anything left of the hare.
"I beseech you, I beg of you, grant me the blessing of this offering – its agility and speed,"
The flames flashed once and then, as if by an invisible force, they stretched and traced the lines of the pentagram, absorbing the blood into them, before starting to circle the circle of blood and merging with it, casting the cave into a crimson purple glow.
"So that my enemies would never escape and I would never be caught, all in the name of Bethrezen! None shall run for none can escape His glory!"
And with the final incantation, the fiery glowing circle merged with the hexagon before the very same flame rushed at and into Naruto from all the six sides. Going into him, through him, over him, all around him…
Naruto's back snapped straight from his hunched position, his head thrown back as his eyes rolled backwards and his mouth opened in a silent scream.
But it was not out of pain, but of pure exhilaration and ecstasy. Power like no other flowed through him. His muscles spasmed, expanded and contracted, his nerves were on fire, his whole body twitching. And all the while there was no pain, no suffering, only pure unadulterated pleasure, happiness, and joy.
Then it all abruptly stopped, the flames dispersed in the air, and Naruto fell on the ground. He was breathing hard as some of his muscles still twitched.
Hiruzen snapped out of his morbid, fascinated shock and rushed to Naruto but abruptly stopped when he saw the now charred hexagon still surrounding Naruto. He remembered his warning "At least not until all the lines disappear". He was very much out of his depth so he took the boy's warning to heart. Very little parts of the whole process reminded Hiruzen of some old Fuuinjutsu and he knew how finicky that art could be. And it was clear that what he just witnessed wasn't just some simple Fuuinjutsu either, but something else. Wanting nothing more than to check if the boy is okay, but not wanting to disrupt the boundary of the hexagon, he steeled his nerves and just waited.
A minute later that felt like hundred hours, Naruto stopped twitching and his breath calmed down. And with that the charred hexagon dispersed like dust in the wind leaving no traces that something extraordinary happened here.
Hiruzen took that as his cue to rush to Naruto.
"Naruto-kun! Are you alright?"
"Yeah," he said with a smile as he managed to sit up "I am more than fine. Exhausted, but otherwise good."
The Sandaime sighed in relief and Naruto was happy to know that someone truly cared.
"What happened? What did you do?" Hiruzen had so many question and the child actually laughed! If he wasn't the Hokage or a veteran ninja, then Hiruzen would have huffed.
"I guess you didn't understand a word," Naruto chuckled "In short, the ritual sacrificed the hare to Bethrezen and in return I asked to be granted agility and speed. That's the short of it."
"I see. And did it work?"
Naruto had the decency to smirk "Oh yeah it did, old man! To what extent - that's something I will need to test. But right now I am hungry and exhausted."
Afterwards they chatted for a bit more, before having some food. It was still daytime so the Sandaime had to return to his duties, while Naruto returned home.
He quickly opened the Disciple's Manual and was pleased to know that more pages and information was unlocked for him. He turned on to the next page and read:
"Congratulations, young disciple, for successfully completing your first Intermediate Ritual and receiving the Blessing of the Hare.
Be warned, however, the Blessing doesn't give you something that you don't have. It merely amplifies what you already possess, or unlocks direct, hidden potentials. Therefore to keep the boons you have been granted you have to practice different other crafts. If you don't, then like all things the effect of the ritual will wane. Bethrezen doesn't look kindly on the weak and the lazy.
Something to note however, which is a discovery, is that the effects of the ritual has been amplified due to the presence of chakra in your time and age, and your body. There are no foreseen negative consequences in any of the practices written in this book; for what is chakra: merely a manifestation of physical and spiritual energies. However, proceed with caution for the added element of chakra might amplify any and all results. Control is everything for the desired results.
Nevertheless, Bethrezen favours you. You are no longer an Initiate of the path of the Damned. You are now an Adept. New information has been revealed for you."
How did it know what exactly he did?
Ah, of course – the blood offering when he opens the book. Seems like the book had some sort of sentience if it was able to analyse him based on his blood and then form a response.
But it was also an interesting thought – the book said that his chakra was a discovery for it, meaning it didn't know about its existence, and therefore indirectly implying that chakra didn't exist in the Old World. He sighed. With this new revelation he will need to re-read some chapters of the Archive. Understanding these new powers and their origin is important for Naruto.
And with that he chose to go to bed. There was loads of work to be done still.
[Flashback End]
And indeed – there was lots of work to be done.
The Blessing of the Hare exponentially amplified his speed and agility. When he showed the results to Hiruzen, the old man was definitely shocked when he saw Naruto move with the speed of a Chuunin while also doing flips, cartwheels, and otherwise showing off his newfound acrobatic prowess. It was also a day of great humour to Hiruzen – the new speed was, well, new for Naruto which resulted in the boy crashing in a lot of trees while showing off.
He was glad that he let Hiruzen on when he did. He gave all kinds of training tips to help him take control and get used to his new speed. The book didn't lie when it said that receiving the Blessing was just the first step, and that the second step involved to actually build and develop further yourself. When the book said "practice different other crafts", Naruto realised it was a weird way of saying "training, body conditioning, and other similar practices". He unlocked new speed and boosted his potential for speed, but now he had to work his ass off to keep it on the same level and actually build on top of it.
Since then, he performed 2 more of such rituals and received the Blessing of the Stag a year later – which straightened his posture, fixed his malnourishment, fixed his height, and gave him a confident gait. Naturally, as a result he had to watch his diet, eat properly to sustain the same level of nutrition, and do stretching exercises so that his posture didn't deteriorate back.
And he also received the Blessing of the Bear another year after that, the result of which was slightly thicker skin, some muscle mass, and strength. And to keep that in line he had to do intense work outs.
He was thankful he only needed 2 hours of sleep.
When he unlocked the next level, the Adept section of the book, he was floored by how much content there was compared to the beginner stage. Not so much in practical sense, but in theoretical. He learnt that the reason for the difference of content was because in the Old World not many could overcome the hurdle of the teachings, or had enough willpower to not get lost in the lust for power or enough will to survive the rituals whole. Many fanatics would become simple Possessed that would fill Bethrezen's army of yore as cannon fodder. To become a truly the Master of the path of the Damned one needed the willpower, intelligence, cunning, and determination to go through different ranks, and the willingness to do it all in Bethrezen's name out of your own free will – for it was said that it was Him who created men and gave them the greatest boon of all: free will.
Nevertheless, the difficulty of the Adept section spiked. Much more in depth knowledge, more explanations, theories, all kinds of ritual bases – combat and otherwise, different practices and their explanations. There were two hurdles for Naruto in this. First – the book seemed to add a lot of focus on how chakra interacted with the Infernal Arts; on how it twisted the whole practice compared to what it was in the Old World (as Naruto learned there was no chakra back then and all of this was done through different medium). Naruto struggled to understand this at first which, of course, forced Naruto to visit the library and pick up several books on ninja theory (cleared by the Hokage). Eventually it became easier to understand.
The second hurdle came in the form of applying what he learnt practically. There was a lot and a lot of theoretical stuff and not nearly as much practical application of it in terms of techniques or jutsus he could perform. It wasn't a list of 'here is a technique X, perform these hand seals, and voila'. No. The whole point was that every practitioner of the path of the Damned was unique in their arts. It supplied him the knowledge, and showed some examples (there was two techniques that were combat ready to learn, and one off-combat), and offered some bases. But it was up to him to develop his own applications of it. The book called him a protector, so Naruto mused that maybe there used to be other types of practitioners too.
In the end he managed to create something of his own which was a testament of his dedication to the art. And he was certain that he knew enough to somewhat improvise on the spot too, if the situation called for it.
As of right now he has finished the whole Adept section of the book and reread it twice. There was no further instruction on how to proceed and he knew there was more to be learnt. For a while that made Naruto very irritated but at least it gave him time to perfect what he knew and to focus on other things.
He didn't ignore his ninja training either. He perfected the Academy Taijutsu, and was constantly working on his chakra control which was exceedingly difficult for him. That's when he found out that the reason it was difficult, and the reason he couldn't perform Bunshin correctly, was because he had just so much dense chakra. Which forced him to go hard on chakra control exercises. He has mastered tree walking, and is confident in water walking but he had to do those daily. He wished he could do a ritual and receive a Blessing to jump and correct his control, but he was at a loss at which animal he could use that represented chakra and control in one.
Naruto remembered that at one point he felt extremely overwhelmed. Physical work outs, proper nutrition and meals (so naturally – cooking), chakra control exercises, academy, Infernal Arts studying and practising at night, taijutsu practice, agility and speed training, academics, shuriken and kunai training. There was just so much and so little time to do it all in a single day to a good standard. At one point he almost had a breakdown but he visited the Sandaime just in time for the man to give him advice on how to deal with it. And it was simple: "My boy, you don't have to do everything in one day. You can easily split your workload in half and alternate the days on which you do them." For all his new intelligence Naruto berated for not seeing something so obvious. Still, he was glad for Hiruzen's continued support despite his dark arts.
Sadly (not that Naruto cared much anyway), despite all the training he was still the dead last in the Academy – only doing enough to pass. He gave up quite early when he saw that the sabotage won't stop so he didn't bother doing anything about it. All that mattered was for him to graduate and become a ninja, not the grades. He refused to bring it up to the old man simply because he was so thankful for all of his help. He knew the Sandaime was giving him more attention than he should have, indulging in his unannounced strolls around the village and taking him away from his duties. There was lots of paperwork that Sandaime always complained about and Naruto just couldn't bring it up in himself to add another burden on the old man to start a massive scale investigation in the Academy (and he also didn't want to inconvenience those who treated him neutrally). Besides, Naruto was sure that Sandaime was following his progress anyway and if he hadn't said anything then neither would Naruto.
Over the course of the years he got a bit closer with his classmates, at least with the ones from clans. He wouldn't go out of his way to say he was friends with them, but he wouldn't say they were nobodies either – they are going to be his future comrades so he made some effort in getting to know them while in the Academy. He never spent any time with them outside the Academy though as he simply didn't have the time for it (it's not like he was receiving invitations either).
The civilian kids however… they just chose to mostly ignore Naruto. Ever since he fixed his height, got bigger in stature, and obtained that imposing feeling, they felt picking on Naruto wouldn't be the smartest thing.
The sun now sat comfortably in the sky above the horizon, blessing the village with its warmth and light. Naruto was startled to realise an hour or two have passed since he first arrived on the Hokage Monument. Soon he will have to leave for the Academy for his final exam and graduation.
The most recent dilemma on his mind, however, was something that the Hokage revealed to him a week ago.
The Kyuubi.
Hiruzen wanted to show Naruto the same trust that Naruto gave him so he decided to finally reveal about the bijuu sealed within the boy.
To say that Naruto was furious was an understatement. He was livid. Beyond angry. So much so that outwardly he remained completely calm. Even his face expression didn't change. But inside there was so much turmoil. He lost all of his control over his chakra and subconsciously allowed it to leak. The ANBU in the shadows had a bead of sweat rolling down their brow from the sheer eerie feeling that the chakra was giving off. That feeling when you think you can feel someone stand behind your back and softly breathe on your ear. They were instructed by the Hokage to not do anything if this happens.
At the time all Naruto did was calmly get up and leave the office and go into the woods to train.
It took him a couple of days but he significantly calmed down and approached Hokage again and expressed his understanding of the situation (thank goodness for Naruto's newfound cool headedness). Naruto expressed to Hiruzen that he understood the need to protect him. He was a loudmouth and a troublemaker and while the knowledge would make him understand the treatment he received and make him feel better, he wasn't sure if in his childish, impulsive mind he'd be able to keep his mouth shut and not use the knowledge as a means to get back to the nastier villagers. He could imagine this – some civilian being rough with him on the streets and then him shouting about setting Kyuubi on him. That would have certainly worsened how the rest of the villagers viewed him too.
When Naruto asked why Hiruzen revealed it to the village in the first place, he said it was the Yondaime's dying wish for him to be seen as a hero. In hindsight Hiruzen knew now that was a mistake to do. Naruto saw how much Hiruzen regretted the choices he made. And now it made perfect sense why the old man would sometimes look so sad when looking at him. Naruto also knew that the Hokage cared for him as a family, and that he supported him in the path he has chosen. Maybe it was Hiruzen's way of atoning. So for that, he was able to forgive. Forgive, but not forget. He loved the Hokage – he was the closest thing to a family. While he still felt the sting of broken trust, he also knew he would eventually be able to work through that.
He wasn't sure how he felt about Yondaime himself. On one hand he always admired the man and wanted to be like him, but on the other… he sealed the Kyuubi into him thus ruining the chance at a perfectly normal life.
Naruto frowned when he looked up and saw that the sun was in a certain position in the sky. It was time to get a move on.
He dusted off his black shinobi pants and adjusted the bandage tape on each of end of the pants, adjusted his long sleeved black shirt that had red spiral on the back, and fastened the tape at the sleeves. Checked his utility belt that contained pouches with shurikens, kunai, a scroll, and a knife. Looking over the village for the last time, Naruto moved his hand through his long golden locks to get some hair away from his face – he never bothered to cut it.
"Time to become a ninja." And with that he leapt off the Hokage Monument.
Admiring the feeling of being suspended in the air for a moment, gravity soon took hold of him as he fell down.
He adjusted his body and smoothly landed on the bridge of Yondaime's nose. Without losing momentum, he began sliding down his massive rock nose while at the same time getting the scroll from his pouch. When he reached the tip of the nose, he unrolled the scroll and leapt into the air.
Showing impressive feat of agility he twisted his body so that he was now facing the Yondaime. With a brief application of chakra into the scroll he unsealed… a couple of buckets all containing paint of white, red, blue and other colours. He used both of his hands, as well as kicks with his feet to throw the buckets and splash the paint on the Yondaime. As he started to descent he got out some kunai and quickly threw them at each bucket to pin them to a wall so they wouldn't land on anyone's heads. Then, he formed a ram seal and after a brief concentration, the messy paint (which was laced with Naruto's chakra) on Yondaime's face turned and twisted and moved until at the very end the revered man's face looked like that of a clown. And that pretty much summed up what Naruto thought of the man at the moment.
Satisfied with his handiwork, Naruto used the wall, trees, and the light poles underneath to safely land. Putting hands in his pockets, Naruto calmly walked towards the Academy with a smirk on his face.
He might have grown out of his childish tendencies and significantly matured but he was still a prankster at heart.
Naruto reached the Academy just in time to claim his usual seat at the back of the classroom, just behind Sasuke who currently moodily looked out of the window. It was sad what happened to Sasuke's clan. He understood how it is to be lonely but he never actually lost anyone close to him so he didn't know how to approach Sasuke to show his support. The most he's done was give a nod to Sasuke who seems to have understood the message.
Last minute latecomers were hurriedly walking in, Naruto politely greeting those he talked with and ignoring others, before everyone was present and the final exam started.
The first exam was written test – basic questions on everything they've learnt in all the time in the academy. History, basic chakra theory, prominent figures of the village, missions rankings, and such. Naruto answered all the questions easily enough but didn't put much effort into going into details for extra credit. He knew that the final score would be based on the average of all the tests and exams and since he was already dead last there was no reason to even try to outdo himself here (and he was sure someone would make it so he got lowest score anyway).
Then came taijutsu, which involved a brief spar with their instructor. His basic taijutsu was strong so he did well against Iruka-sensei.
Next came shuriken and kunai accuracy test. Here he decided to show off a bit and hit all 10 targets with both weapons, surprising everyone.
Finally, came the ninjutsu test where you had to show that you could perform the basic 3 techniques – Kawarimi, Henge, and basic Bunshin.
Everyone was called forward, some people failed one technique or the other. Regardless how well you performed in the other parts of the exam, if you failed any of the three techniques then it would be an automatic fail and you would have to stay for another year. Those people who failed were a bit disheartened, but then Naruto thought it's for the best – if they didn't take their studies seriously enough to practice the techniques then maybe they needed more time before becoming ninjas.
Finally, Naruto was called forward. He performed the perfect Henge, and substituted himself with a nearby chair.
"Very good. Now show us the Bunshin," Iruka said.
Naruto nodded. He formed a ram seal and then around 20 clones formed and filled out the room.
Iruka could only sweat drop.
"Well-"
Iruka was interrupted by Mizuki "Naruto, you have to only create 2 bunshins to pass. This is too much,"
Naruto frowned "Actually, Mizuki-sensei, the exam objectives only state I have to successfully perform the jutsu. It doesn't say anything about the number of bunshins," he then looked at Iruka "I have too much chakra capacity in me," here he looked at Iruka with a pointed stare "and it would require an immense chakra control for me to conjure any less. As they are now my bunshins are perfect but if you will insist, then I am willing to show something else for extra credit. Advanced chakra control exercise such as Tree Walking, perhaps? Or another jutsu?"
Iruka shook his head and shot Mizuki a glance "That won't be necessary. You are right, you only need to show that you can do the jutsu. Congratulations, Naruto. You are now a Genin of Konohagakure. Please take your headband and return to your seat."
Naruto nodded his head, completely ignoring the sour look on Mizuki's face. He accepted the headband and smiled as he tied it around his forehead which pushed his long locks out of his face.
Finally a real ninja.
He reclaimed his seat and patiently waited for everyone else to finish their exam. When the final student final passed, Iruka stood and addressed the classroom.
"Congratulations, everyone. You are all now officially Genin, protectors of Konoha. Remember, anything and everything you do is for the people. Always remember about the Will of Fire. Now you will have a week off while we compile all of the results and assign you to teams. During this week you are free to relax but I suggest to keep training – you never know what can happen out there. Additionally, all who passed are required to have their ninja ID registered and picture taken. You can do it either here or at the Hokage's tower on the Administrative floor," he took a breath and smiled "Be here a week from now on at 10am sharp to learn your team assignments and meet your Jonin instructors. You are all dismissed."
Everyone excitedly trickled out of the building eager to tell their family that they are now ninja. Naruto decided that he will visit the Hokage tower now to have his ninja ID over and done with.
Before he could walk away he was stopped by Mizuki just outside.
"Hey, Naruto!" he called.
"Yes, Mizuki-sensei?"
"Listen, would you like to earn an extra credit? You are currently at the very bottom on the rankings," Mizuki offered with a seemingly kind smile.
Naruto frowned "Why would I want that?"
"Your scores at the end of the academy influence your team placements. Surely you wouldn't want to be placed on the same team that has other low scoring kids? You wouldn't want to be held back, would you? It would only take a small extra test."
Naruto couldn't help but hum. He didn't know that the Academy scores directly correlated with what teams you're placed on. If he thought about it then it made sense – the teams had to be balanced. Though remembering Mizuki's sour face when Iruka passed him Naruto wasn't certain if he believed the validity of Mizuki's claim. "I appreciate the offer, Mizuki-sensei, but no thanks. I am sure Hokage-sama would put me on the right team, I'm also certain I would do reasonable well on any team. After all, a ninja has to show adaptability. See you later, Mizuki-sensei."
And with that Naruto turned around and left never seeing Mizuki's scowling face.
In no time Naruto entered Hokage's Tower and quickly reached the Administrative Floor after confirming his details with the secretary on the ground floor (he learnt to get along with her but she still was watching like a hawk in case he tried to bolt for Hokage's office like he usually did).
He entered the designated room and was surprised to see the Sandaime sit there along with 2 more people.
"Hey old man. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be doing paperwork?"
"Naruto-kun!" Hokage greeted when he saw the teen walk in "Alas, for the next week I am stuck here for some time. It's a tradition to welcome and congratulate new Genins. Alas, they often choose to do it at the Academy building so I'm using this opportunity to take a break at the pretence of working," He winked and the other 3 people in the room sweat dropped "Now, congratulation on passing. Let's get a move on, shall we?"
Naruto nodded and he was lead to sit on a chair in the middle of the room to have his picture taken by one of the assistants. Next he filled out a form and in a matter of minutes he had his ID done.
"Thank you. Now sadly I can't offer for you to stay and chat – today is quite a busy day despite what I said earlier," Hiruzen looked apologetically to Naruto.
"Before I go there's something I wanted to ask though," Hokage nodded for him to continue "Is it true that Genin teams are assigned based on Academy scores?"
Hokage blinked at the question not quite expecting it "Usually yes – to balance out the teams. But sometimes some Jonins would take a student as an apprentice, which is rare, or request specific Genins to be put on their team. It's also up to the Hokage's discretion," he answered truthfully "Who told you that? While it's not a secret, there's also a reason this information is not widespread."
"Huh, I see. It was Mizuki-sensei. After the exam he offered me extra credit for doing some hidden test to get a higher score. No matter, I refused him." Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at this. Before Naruto could leave, however, a boy with an incredibly long scarf ran in holding a wooden shuriken.
"This is it, gramps! I will defeat you now and claim your hat!"
Then he tripped over his own scarf and hit the floor with his face. Hiruzen tried to hide his embarrassment by pulling his Hokage hat down.
The boy got up with some tears in his eyes and then accusingly pointed at Naruto "It was you! You tripped me!"
Naruto looked at the boy with deadpan expression, "Sure." Then he looked at the Hokage "See you later, Jiji." And left. As he was leaving he almost ran into another ninja with headband and round shades. The man seemed to be in quite a rush. After Naruto quickly muttered an apology, he finally left the tower to go spend some time outside the walls of the village to train.
It was late evening with the sun having set behind the horizon an hour ago, casting the forest into darkness. The only sources of light were the lights from the village that managed to pierce the canopy. But this was perfect for Naruto and the kind of training he was doing tonight.
He was dashing and darting around the village while remaining in the forest, leaping and jumping from tree to tree, vertically and horizontally, trying to speed up with every lap he made. Impressive feats of agility was on display as Naruto cartwheeled from one tree into another before pushing with hands and leaping to a third tree, running up to the top before jumping down on to another tree, dashing and weaving forward, while practising taijutsu katas on the move. This trained his speed, reflexes, chakra control, stamina, getting himself used to fighting on the move. The cover of darkness had the benefit of training his perception and attention.
Naruto was utilizing several skills in his arsenal to train them all together as a way to finish off the day.
As he was making his third lap his ears picked up a snap of twigs and he saw a shadow dart through the trees. His sixth sense told him this was slightly suspicious so he followed it while trying to be discreet.
There was someone who seemed to be in quite a hurry, as if running away. Then suddenly the shadow picked up the speed and Naruto gave chase, not letting up. This continued for a couple more seconds before the shadow suddenly stopped and shouted "Come out! I know you're following me!"
Naruto cursed that he failed being stealthy. He was also startled to realise that he knew the voice.
"Mizuki-sensei?"
Mizuki couldn't believe his luck. He sensed that someone was following him for quite a while and for a moment he thought he was discovered by ANBU. Mizuki immediately relaxed, completely disregarding that Naruto actually managed to keep up with him. The man cackled "If it isn't the Kyuubi brat!"
Now Naruto frowned. There was definitely something wrong here. Mizuki appeared to carry some kind of a massive scroll, and was hastily running in the opposite direction of the village. Naruto had a bad feeling about this as he narrowed his eyes "You do know that you just broke one of the Sandaime's laws?
"Haha, who cares about that? None of it will matter when I kill you and bring this Scroll of Seals to my new master!"
A traitor then. In Naruto's opinion those were one of the worst kind of people. He always felt there was something unsettling about his now former teacher, but he always chalked it down to the generic Kyuubi dislike.
Also Naruto thought it was stupid of the man to just reveal his plans; see if he can fish for some information then "And who is your master?"
"Orochimaru of course!" Mizuki laughed and then leered at Naruto "Do you want to know why the villagers seem to hate you? Why your parents are dead?"
Naruto raised his eyebrow, was the man serious? "Go on then, why?"
"Because you are the accursed Kyuubi no Yoko! The Yondaime couldn't kill off the demon so instead he sealed it into a new-born babe. And that babe was you! You are the Kyuubi reincarnated, you bear all the responsibility of all those deaths over a decade ago! I will kill you and do Konoha a favour!"
"I see. Well, I already knew about the Kyuubi. And now you officially broke an S-rank secret and the penalty of that is death," Mizuki was a bit taken back. He didn't expect that kind of reaction. "Also it's a bit weird you would claim to do Konoha a favour if you're turning traitor… don't mind me, I'm just thinking out loud. I know it's a matter of speech." Now Naruto got serious and took a kunai out.
He had to be careful - the enemy was a Chuunin. Sure, Naruto trained his ass off every single day for the past few years and he even considered himself to be above his fellow classmates, but this was still his very first real battle to the death against a ninja. His inexperience could prove fatal.
Mizuki adopted an angry face expression when he saw Naruto wasn't reacting like he expected him to. He took the scroll off and threw it on the ground next to him before suddenly dashing towards Naruto as quickly as he could, intend to finish this quickly. No doubt ANBU were already looking for him - he wasn't exactly subtle when he stole the scroll.
Naruto anticipated such a move and rolled to the side to dodge an incoming punch. At the end of the roll he threw the kunai aiming it at the head. He knew Mizuki would dodge that so he was already weaving some handseals, anticipating where he would land based on his momentum.
As predicted, Mizuki saw the incoming kunai and rolled forward.
Katon: Fireball
Only to watch with wide eyes as a medium sized ball of fire was already upon him. While it was smaller in size compared to Goukakyuu, the heat was no less intense. He was forced to flip backwards from a weird angle to avoid it. Unfortunately he didn't escape completely unscathed - his leg was caught slightly in the ensuing explosion.
He didn't have the time to even react to Naruto's sudden skill as he was already above him with kunai aimed to pierce his head.
Naruto himself was quite surprised at how easy it seemed. He chalked it down to being cooped up as a teacher in a classroom on a daily basis and not bothering to train because of that.
Mizuki rolled out of the way just in time, made another flip and jumped into the air. He quickly took a scroll out of his pouch and unsealed his special commissioned Fuuma shuriken before in one fluid movement threw it at Naruto. Immediately after, he threw a bunch of shurikens as he landed on the floor.
The blonde cartwheeled sideways to dodge the Fuuma and at the end of the movement he planted his feet on a tree and run up to evade the shuriken. He pushed off the tree and threw his own shuriken towards Mizuki.
However, for some god damn reason, he didn't anticipate that Mizuki wouldn't wait for him to dodge and would press on his attack. Later Naruto would berate himself for this mistake - Mizuki did the same thing he did earlier and if he didn't wait for Mizuki to dodge then why would it not be the same case if situation was reversed.
Naruto couldn't do anything when Mizuki was already upon him with a heel attack from above. Naruto couldn't dodge while being mid-air so the best thing he could do is raise a hasty block.
Mizuki's heel hit the mark and Naruto plummeted towards the ground. Having had experienced falling from great heights, Naruto managed to adjust his position and fall into a roll to avoid Mizuki's follow up attack.
Naruto quickly spun around and tried to deliver a high kick, which was blocked, and then a low sweep, which was evaded. They traded a couple of taijutsu hits, neither penetrating each other's blocks. Naruto threw a haymaker but this time instead of blocking, Mizuki grabbed the arm and pushed Naruto while jumping back. Naruto stumbled backwards and his danger senses were triggering all kinds of alerts. Naruto forced himself to fall backwards instead of recovering from the stumble – he leaned into the fall and bent his back backward and his eyes widened as at that moment the Fuuma shuriken from earlier soared just inches away from his face. If he didn't listen to his danger senses then he'd have sustained a massive wound. He might not feel pain much anymore but he was still a mortal so he bled and could die.
He continued to bend backwards until his hands touched the ground and he managed to flip and recover his position.
Mizuki was standing a bit away holding the Fuuma shuriken and sporting a nasty smirk "This is a custom made Fuuma Shuriken that I commissioned from Tetsu no Kuni, it cost me a fortune. It works like a boomerang. For a dead last you are putting up quite a fight but I am a Chuunin, I am leagues above you! Prepare to die!"
"Dramatic much." Naruto thought. While Mizuki was revealing his technique, Naruto took this moment of respite to catch his breath and recenter himself. He took out two kunai and prepared for an attack he knew will come.
True to his prediction, Mizuki threw the Fuuma again. This time instead of dodging straight away, Naruto channelled some chakra into his arms and flung his two kunai with as much force as he could muster towards the incoming projectile. The power at which he threw his two kunai overpowered the superior weight and force of the incoming Fuuma and with a loud CLANG! managed to divert it's trajectory so that Naruto wouldn't have to worry about dodging.
Mizuki was already upon him and aimed a hit at his chest. Naruto chose not to block but semi-parry it – diverting the hit enough that it hit area of his body that would do the least damage. Due to his pain tolerance this allowed him to not lose his center of gravity and step into Mizuki's space, delivering a swift kick to his right shin.
Mizuki felt sharp pain coming up his leg as that was the same leg that got burnt and damaged in the explosion. He buckled, dropping his guard and Naruto didn't hesitate to deliver a swift punch to the face followed up by a strong kick to his chest. Mizuki flew backwards, blood dripping from his lip, but he managed to flip and land on his feet. He still winced as now the pain in his leg was more prevalent – he knew he needed to finish this soon as the leg could no longer be ignored and he still had to think about getting away. The brat was giving him more trouble than he expected.
Naruto didn't wait for him to launch a counter attack. He took a knife out from his pouch and started loudly chanting a short incantation.
Mizuki stopped in his tracks when he heard the strange noises coming from Naruto – they made him feel wary because it sounded powerful and forceful, but he laughed nonetheless "You're so scared that you started bumbling in your delusion?"
Ignoring his instincts, Mizuki grabbed a kunai and shot forward.
Naruto spun around to evade the first attack, then tried to stab Mizuki with his knife. Mizuki parried it with his kunai and attempted a low sweep with his legs, but Naruto jumped over him, planted legs on Mizuki's back and pushed. Mizuki was forced to do a forward roll, while Naruto jumped back to make distance. All the while chanting.
And then he stopped the incantation and stabbed his own palm without even flinching before discarding the knife.
Mizuki was so shocked by the sudden self-harm that he was rooted on the spot "I always knew the demon kid was crazed despite his cool persona mask!"
Naruto made a single one handed handseal and then put his fist above his bloody palm, almost as if he was grabbing a hilt of a weapon. Instantly, the blood that was on the ground and still dripping from his wound reversed its direction and flew towards Naruto's fist. He threw his arm backwards and immediately all the blood coalesced to make one long whip.
Infernal Whip
Naruto bellowed his technique and immediately the bloody whip was engulfed in intense, deep red fire that Naruto held in his hand. This was one of the two combat techniques that he learnt directly from the book. Naruto dared to smirk confidently at Mizuki. Without hesitating he flicked the whip forward and Mizuki had to roll to avoid being hit. He noticed with horror that where the whip stuck on the ground was a hole, everything around it having pure black scorch mark. "It packs a punch physically and also burns!"
He had no time to think as he had to duck to avoid the whip that was flying at him from the side. It passed over the head and Mizuki widened his eyes at the intense heat he felt over his head, singing some of his hair. Mizuki quickly recovered and stood up and winced again as pain shot through the injured leg.
The whip retreated back and Naruto held his palm upwards. Immediately the fiery whip straightened and Naruto held it like a javelin. This happened in a span of a second while Mizuki was recovering. He jumped and threw it, aiming to hit his former sensei.
Mizuki widened his eyes at the incoming danger and due to his injury only managed to sidestep it, barely escaping it. However, this is where he made his mistake. He should have realised that Naruto jumped up for a reason. He should have jumped away too, made some distance, rather than just sidestep. The bloody, fire covered javelin embedded itself in the ground next to him and released all of its fire within it; the point of impact exploded in a fiery blast and Mizuki was thrown back as he took the full brunt of the explosion. The most he could do was cover his face by crossing hands. He flew and hit a tree before falling to the ground, face first.
Naruto dashed and grabbed his bloody javelin that lost its fire now. If he wanted to reignite it, then he would need to have some of his enemy's blood. Or he would need to create a new Infernal Whip – which meant another long chant and another stab to his palm to get blood as sacrifice. He knew the technique disperses soon after losing its flames, but then he looked at Mizuki and saw that there is no need to reignite or renew it.
He approached Mizuki and pierced his upper thigh eliciting a scream from the man. A second later the bloody weapon dissolved and disappeared into the air.
At the same time the Hokage landed nearby with a small squad of 3 ANBU behind him. "Naruto-kun!"
But Naruto didn't hear him. He kept staring at the laying Mizuki, at his blood forming a puddle under his punctured leg. Naruto's eyes dilated, unblinking, his whole body was frozen still, and an image kept playing in his mind on a repeat. Naruto broke down in cold sweat, and suddenly… Suddenly he knew what he had to do.
"Naruto!" Hokage repeated again, this time more firmly.
Naruto snapped out of his stupor and gulped. He then tore his eyes away from Mizuki and looked at the Hokage "Hey, Jiji."
"What happened here?"
"In short – I was training, then I saw someone running away so I chased after because it reminded me of Hinata incident, it turned out to be Mizuki who stole some kind of scroll and wanted to give it to Orochimaru, then he revealed the Kyuubi secret, then we battled, and here we are."
The ANBU present were quite impressed that a fresh Genin could take down a Chuunin. Sure, they knew that there was something unusual going on with the blonde with the ANBU constantly being with the Hokage in the office, but they never knew or seen of what Naruto could do exactly.
Hiruzen, for his part, nodded. He already partly knew what happened having watched Naruto since the beginning of the fight via his seeing ball. He was too busy mobilising his ninja to look for Scroll of Sealing so he wasn't sure what transpired before that and how it ended – the Hokage left his tower with ANBU the moment he saw Naruto stabbing his palm.
Another ANBU landed holding the large Scroll of Seals – he wore a white cloak and his face was hidden by a dog mask. "Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen nodded and took the Scroll off him, then turned to Naruto "Well done. You managed to beat and capture a Chuunin traitor and protect an item that would severely endanger Konoha if it got in the wrong hands. You will be compensated for this – a relevant mission will be added to your record along with the pay. You can return home, we will take care things from here."
Naruto uncertainly looked at the Sandaime, then at the heavily breathing Mizuki, and then back at the Hokage "Hokage-sama…" he then looked at Mizuki again "May I… I really need to…"
Hokage was quite shocked and widened his eyes when Naruto addressed him by such a respective title. Naruto was addressing him not as his jiji this time, but as the leader of the village. He couldn't remember when that ever happened before. That only meant whatever he wanted was extremely serious. Looking at Naruto again he finally noticed his state – rigid stance, the light sweat… He then saw the way he was looking at Mizuki and Hiruzen immediately understood. Or at least he connected the dots and made an educated guess. His eyes hardened a bit as he addressed Naruto, albeit still maintaining a warm tone of voice "Naruto-kun, I can't allow you to do that. Mizuki committed several most serious crimes today. He also, as per your words, admitted to working for Orochimaru against the village. We need him alive at the T&I to get further information. It's a case of village security."
Naruto looked at the Sandaime and swallowed hard trying to get his body under control "I understand that, completely. But, I need… hmm," he stopped and quickly searched in his mind for an answer, he needed a compromise and he thought he found one "Okay, but can I do something else? Nothing that will kill him," at this point ANBU got extremely curious as to what the kid was talking about "I think I can manage with a different kind of procedure with just using a small body part - hand perhaps? It won't kill him and I really need to do this to proceed with my training."
Hiruzen pursed his lips as he thought about it. Normally it's not something he'd allow but this was a unique situation. He didn't fail to note that Naruto said 'procedure' and not 'ritual', no doubt concerned about the presence ANBU. In fact, that observation helped him make a decision "Very well. As long as he lives. ANBU and I will remain until you are done, then we will take him away." In the end this would serve the village better and kill two birds with one kunai – possibly advance the teen's training as well as slowly expose his techniques to other ninja as a way to get them used to it.
Naruto blinked but nodded his head in thanks. He didn't question the decision to have ANBU watch as he guessed it's to start letting ninjas in on his activities. It's something he didn't know how to approach – he wasn't planning on keeping his techniques and lifestyle a secret from his comrades, but he didn't want to go and shock anyone with randomly performing bloody rituals. He wasn't even sure how he'd even start that conversation with his team: 'Oh hey, just to let you know, I sometimes stab myself and do weird shit with blood, and ominously say some nonsense, so uhm, don't mind me it's all good, yeah?' he could imagine how well that would go.
Not wanting to waste any time he quickly got to work. Thankfully this won't be anything as elaborate as his previous sacrificing rituals to get Blessings. After all, this was not meant to grant any perceivable effects, or even do anything at all that would give results. This was merely a sacrifice to Bethrezen as a way to say thank you and give respect to his patron.
Naruto picked up the discarded knife and with a quick, minor Katon jutsu he blew some fire on to the blade to heat it up. Hiruzen was definitely impressed by the control of Katon chakra – he didn't know the boy knew elemental jutsu.
"I will have to get a new knife after this," Naruto thought. This was a simple kitchen knife with a metal that was not meant to handle chakra. When it cools down it will definitely lose its sharp quality.
He quickly and smoothly brought down the knife on Mizuki's hand with as much force as he could and was lucky enough to be able to chop it off in one try while also cauterising the wound to stop Mizuki from bleeding out. Everyone else present just blinked in incredulity.
Ignoring the painful moan from the downed man, Naruto put the cut hand down. He then discarded his now useless knife and got a kunai out. Here he started chanting and stabbed his now healed palm again; using the bloody kunai Naruto drew a simple circle around the hand to symbolise that it was him who took the man down. In his chant he thanked Bethrezen for his patronage, for granting him the tools to achieve the power he needed to protect his village from this traitor.
When the circle connected there was a wave of Power that expanded from the scene, washing over the Hokage and ANBU. Just like Naruto's voice, it was strong and powerful and eerie and made them feel unsettled, but not threatened. It washed over them and covered them in a certain feeling that they could only explain as a 'protective blanket'. The Hokage has seen this before, of course, but it was no less fascinating as it was the first time. This Power, while seemingly based on chakra, didn't feel like any other chakra exposure they've felt before. It wasn't like killing intent, or dense chakra pressure that physically affected them.
Naruto continued – he dipped the kunai in the pool of blood that collected under Mizuki's leg, and then drew an incomplete half circle, enough so that he, Mizuki and the hand was inside it without closing the circle. In the same Ancient Tongue he begged for apology that it won't be a full offering because he was a protector and he needed the man alive to protect his village. He then drew a straight line and connected the circle that the hand was in with the pool of blood under the leg. He again thanked Bethrezen for allowing protection of the village through his path of the Damned.
Naruto uttered the final syllable, all the blood flashed crimson red and then burst into flames. Mizuki suddenly convulsed and screamed as if in intense pain. It only lasted for 2 seconds before, in a crescendo of Power that even the observers felt, all the blood scattered and vanished including the hand, and Mizuki stopped screaming and passed out. Even the pool of blood vanished.
Naruto himself had a full second where he felt a sudden sense of pure smugness, understanding, acceptance, self-satisfaction. But then it was gone just as quickly, replaced by what he felt when Hokage first arrived – tired.
"I thought you said it won't harm him?" Hiruzen finally spoke. He sensed his ANBU were still trying to get over the shock of what they just witnessed and he had to refrain from smirking in amusement.
Naruto shrugged "It wasn't supposed to. I can only speculate that because it was a half offering it was a way for Bethrezen to let him know that he was lucky? Either way he's alive and well and I am done here. Thank you very much for allowing me this much, Jiji."
"Katon?" he asked.
"When you gave me clearance to get materials on chakra off the library I might or not might have utilised that opportunity too look up some jutsus too. Would be bad to get stuck on Infernal Arts only."
Hiruzen chuckled "I see, very smart. I'm proud of you, Naruto-kun," the teen beamed "Return back to the village now. And don't forget your team placements in a week."
Naruto smiled and bid them all a goodbye.
After a signal from the Hokage the ANBU immediately grabbed the knocked out Mizuki and disappeared. They would probably treat his leg first so the man doesn't die from further blood loss before they can get information out of him.
"That was…" Dog masked ANBU began "Peculiar. What was it, Hokage-sama? Infernal Arts?"
Hokage turned to his ANBU captain and regarded him for a second before replying "Naruto somehow got the attention of some ancient, forgotten God. And when he had the choice -and I am sure the boy had the choice for nothing of sorts can be forced-, of embracing it or walking away... Well, our Genin decided it would be more beneficial to walk that path."
"Do you think it will become a problem?"
"Do you?" Hokage shot back.
Startled, ANBU didn't expect a question back. But then he understood Hokage was asking for his opinion of what he just witnessed "I didn't feel threatened. And whatever Naruto got involved with without a doubt was of benefit to him. He did, after all, defeat a Chuunin even if it was someone as unimpressive as Mizuki. However it does seem rather dark. It was supposed to be a full sacrifice, wasn't it?"
Hokage nodded "That's what I understood too."
"That is concerning to me. We don't shun power based on how it was acquired if it's for the sake of the village. Tenzo is the proof of this. However what if his dark God, whoever it might be, will start demanding more sacrifices and Naruto won't have any choice but to turn to the villagers? I don't think he would hesitate based on their treatment of him."
Hokage waved his concerns away "Naruto would never do that. I made sure of that. And he swore he would never and I am inclined to believe him."
ANBU wouldn't argue with the Hokage and tell him that promises shinobi made were a fickle thing. All he said instead was "Time will tell."
Naruto arrived home and the first thing he wanted to check was the Disciple's Manual. As he suspected – a whole new content was available to him that would advance him on to the next level. However, the book said
"… but only partial content has been revealed to you. Half an offering will only yield half the content. Well done on figuring out requirements on what you have to do. However, only a full ritualistic offering will give you the understanding to comprehend and unlock further teachings…"
Naruto was exhilarated! It's been months (almost a year) since he read the last available chapter to him and now he could finally continue. It didn't matter it wasn't fully revealed, at least he now knew what he had to do.
He was too tired to read tonight though so instead he opted to go to bed. He didn't want to do the stamina refreshment either – proper sleep always felt better. Besides, he had a whole week ahead of him still.
That night he dreamt of feasts and banquets, of celebration, of kingdoms and seas of fire.
At the same time as Naruto was sleeping, Hokage was sitting in his office patiently waiting for someone.
It has already been an hour and it was getting quite irritating – he had to deal with the Mizuki incident and it was already getting very late, he was getting tired.
Hokage signalled for one of his hidden ANBU "Go fetch him. If he doesn't comply, use force. Use whole ANBU squad if you have to."
The ANBU sweat dropped but nevertheless disappeared to carry out the order.
Several agonizing minutes later, during which Sandaime was doing paperwork and extorting every single iota of his willpower not to burn it all to ashes, ANBU finally arrived with man he called for.
"Thank you," ANBU nodded and disappeared back into the shadows "Kakashi! It is late, I want to go home, so I will ignore this tardiness for now and get straight to the point. But do not make me wait so late again! Understood?" just for good measure he blasted the silver haired man with an extra strong KI.
Kakashi sweated as he eye-smiled. Maybe he should come on time when called next time… Hmm. Maybe not. He will think about that "Mah mah. Will do, will do…"
Hokage increased his KI "Kakashi! I know exactly what you are thinking!" Kakashi only raised his arms in defence as he sweat dropped. Hokage relented "No matter. I will be brief – this is about your team you will be trialling next week…"
Meanwhile, in the deepest and hottest, the most forgotten and abandoned depths of the netherworld, of hell; a veiny eyelid snapped fully open. The cold, frozen air around warmed up by a fraction of a degree.
When Naruto woke up it was still the night time but he was already used to it. After freshening up, he went to pick up the book and a surprise awaited him there.
A dagger lay on top of the Manual. Naruto picked it up and absent-mindedly noticed that, just like the book, it took a bit of his blood. But he also somehow knew it's a one time thing only.
He inspected the dagger – it was beautiful. Crimson handle, narrow diamond shaped black cross guard, from which a pure black blade extended. The blade itself and the handle had a white intricate lines on it as a decoration. Naruto pricked his finger at the edge and noted that the blade was very sharp. It was slightly longer than his knife, but not so much that it would be an inconvenience to use in his ritualistic needs. On a hunch, he channelled some chakra into it and the blade glowed blue. So it was chakra conductive too!
Naruto smiled and was very pleased. Just yesterday he thought he'd need to get a new knife after his old one was ruined. Seems Bethrezen rewarded him for a job well done.
For it couldn't be anyone else gifting him such a dagger when he needed one, than his dark God.
AN:
And chapter 2 done. It was way longer than I originally anticipated, but summed up the time skip decently I hope.
Couple of notes:
The italic section before the chapter name is what I meant in the first chapter about "lore a la excerpt's from the Archive Naruto has read". History not entirely relevant to Elemental Nations but still interesting because Naruto is interacting with ancient dark God? Yay or nay? I will do it for 2 more chapters to see how people take them.
Jutsu names: I will use Japanese names for various styles (Katon, Suiton, Fuuton, etc). Some jutsus will be in English (as the Fireball one) - when I create contextual new ones, or if I can't find them on Naruto wiki, while other jutsus will be in Japanese when I can find or know relevant info.
For Infernal Arts/Style I was in a bit of a conundrum - it would look silly if all styles were in Japanese and then suddenly you have English style name. I considered calling it "Infernum" (ie, Infernum: Infernal Whip) but it kinda sounded silly for aforementioned reasons too. I don't know any Japanese to give it a unique Japenese style name. So I settled on just calling out the technique name - this way there is at least consistency of all styles being in Japanese.
Naruto will definitely showcase more ritualistic/Infernal style as that's his bread and butter and the whole point of the story.
Edit1: In this story I use "Power" and "Chakra" interchangeably. Essentially they are the same, but just 'feel' different for the onlookers because it is channelled through a different medium (ie, offerings and sacrifices, rather than direct chakra manipulation like with other techniques).
See you!